“Sweet Black Pussy for Sale” sets the stage for this very feminine and colloquial
laced collection of verse. Both figuratively and literally, the voices of a seldom-traveled
African-American culture are depicted through these songs. In this thesis, I consider
myself a GRIOT, sworn to tell nothing but the truth.
These poems speak from places some might consider sacred and others quite
sinful. These poems moan out the anthems of those unsung heroes and heroines from my
family lineage. The voices of my long dead grandfather, grandmother, aunts and great
uncle haunt poems such as “Blues,” “Salvation,” “A Memorial for Lawrence,” and
“Apartment 12 B Dwight D. Eisenhower Street.”
These poems say, “Even when it’s sunny on the other side of town somebody
could be wearing a frown. It's because the blues don’t mess with folks who ain’t got
anything to lose.”

Access

Unrestricted

Degree

M.F.A.;

Degree Program

Film, Theatre, and Communication Arts;

Department

Dept. of Film, Theatre, Communication Arts;

Major Professor

Gery, John

Advisory Committee

Murphy, Kay; Lavender, Bill

Date Degree Awarded

2008-12-19;

Format

PDF

URL

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Rights

The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.